Review of Bakemonogatari

*Spoilers included* Regret lives inside everyone: It's an unstoppable feeling that at times can drive some into a corner — make them stop progressing as they can't overcome the hurdle that is their past. But that doesn't have to weigh people down. They can't change their past, neither should they desire to. People are who they are because of all of their experiences. No matter how big of a hit a person takes, they can get back up and learn from it, find ways to utilize it and make their lives better in the future. In Bakemonogatari that regret is personified through "aberrations": gods and beings thattake advantage of people when they're at their worst. Often times however, they do so with the consent of the "victims". People are given a chance to fix their situation with the help of inhuman powers, and so they take it without a second thought. While aberrations initially seem to just be a depiction of their pasts and regrets; they also symbolize the parts of them hidden deep in their hearts, waiting to be unleashed...

With that in mind, one could see why Araragi is such a fitting protagonist for the Monogatari series. As I mentioned, the show is mostly about characters understanding their feelings and facing them to remove their inner demons; both figuratively and literally. In that case, the person that would interact with them would have to be someone who would allow for that process to be put in motion, and Araragi is exactly that. He's the show's catalyst thanks to his specific set of traits. The main one would be his empathy, which allows him to spot the problems in the first place. He himself is half vampire and has helped his friend get rid of an aberration before, so it's safe to say that he's at least knowledgeable enough to spot a similar issue, but that's not the only reason why he decides to help. Simply put: He's just like that. He really wants to help people, or how he puts it, allow others to help themselves. If the person wants to change but just can't do it, he will do anything in his power to allow for that to happen, often time without regard for his own well being, so not only is he empathetic, he's an altruist as well. That combination can prove to be all sorts of dangerous, as he pushes himself far more than any mortal can. He comes close to death numerous times for the sake of people he barely knows and doesn't really owe anything to. Again, he's just that type of a person.

This attitude proves to be difficult not only to him, but to others that he interacts with. As Araragi develops bonds with other characters, he becomes a meaningful part of their lives; everyone sees him as someone special, be that their savior or their love interest.
The first character we see Araragi push towards a better future is Senjougahara Hitagi: His mysterious and withdrawn classmate. Her tragic past is revealed in the second episode, and more importantly, so is the reason for her frigid persona. She doesn't want to get close to others because her trust has already been severely damaged. Her mother, who's been a part of a cult, brought home a person that attempted to rape young Senjougahara. The impact of that situation followed her around until she met the aberration that caused a massive change in her life. From there on out, her future started revolving only around getting rid of that creature, and after experiencing people failing at that and cheating her out of her money, her distrust in humanity kept progressing... until she met Araragi.
Meeting him - the first person who offered help without a promise of a reward and came out with actual results - allows for a healing process to start. Senjougahara can once again believe in and get close to someone, not to mention that she was finally freed of her burden. A relationships starts to blossom between the two. That relationship technically comes out of nowhere. Senjougahara revealed her feelings all of a sudden and Araragi responded with a "yes". It could've been anyone else for both of them, but it just so happened that one had the courage to ask and the other had the courage to respond.

There are a lot of things that "just happen" in Monogatari, as you'll notice. The main storyline focuses a lot on destiny and fate, things that just sort of happen and how that sets others in motion.

Monogatari is structured in a way where every character gets their own arc or arcs, in which they take the main stage. In this instalment, we are presented with five smaller storylines, however they do create a cohesive and coherent plot for the season, mainly revolving around Araragi's and Senjougahara's relationship. Them beginning to date sets off a chain reaction, starting with Kanbaru Suruga's arc and culminating in Hanekawa Tsubasa's arc. One simple, on the spot decision caused major consequences for the rest of the cast, be that immediately or throughout the next seasons. Each event from the past gains more and more meaning as the time goes on, because you understand it's importance and what has it caused. The flow that it maintains is precisely what makes Monogatari's style of storytelling so impressive.

Other than that, like a proper story would, Bakemonogatari's plot has a beginning, then proceeds to add crises along the way, raising the tension until the climax point, and finally resolving it, definitely or indefinitely in some cases. However, on top of that, it's also able to consistently introduce new characters; while also giving them proper exposition and develop their own storylines. Nothing really stands still in Monogatari. Each new element seems like it can't work, like there's too much for the writers to work with already, but the show handles it with such care and attention to detail, leaving subtle clues along the way so that no event will ever feel like it lacked meaning. Making the whole thing even more impressive is the fact that each addition is unlike anything we've seen before, they all bring in new traits, attitudes, gags, questions and ways of exploring Monogatari's thematic depth. All that and it still manages to maintain a good, steady flow and a clear idea of what it wants to do. There's no amount of words that could describe my respect for Bakemonogatari's writers upon a realization of the work they put into this and how great it truly ended up being.

Thanks to a competent team, the show gets enough time and space to really dig deeper than most anime stories do. Unlike them, it has time to explore its values, not just rush through the story and leave no human emotions behind. Bakemonogatari takes time to look into most of the characters views on topics important to the show's thematic depth, giving the viewer an understanding of things such as Araragi's and Kanbaru's moral codes, Hanekawa's inner dilemmas, or Senjougahara's doubts and thoughts about people creates a certain image. That image responds directly to the viewer. It often holds very little importance to other characters, but to people watching, knowing the characters so well not only helps with a better comprehension of their future actions, but also provides dilemmas to think about.
Nobody in Monogatari is inherently right about everything, their worldviews are twisted by their pasts, by the aberrations that dwell inside them. It's through the bits and pieces of happy moments that we see what's truly right. Araragi's and Senjougahara's first date is a prime example of a way things should be like. It's a pure moment, clear of any evil and doubt, as it replaces them with passion, trust and truth, all that wrapped inside a beautiful, heart grabbing conversation between two lovers. This is truly how it should be, and the show sells you on this idea by inserting it in episode twelve, amidst all the chaos that goes on in Araragi's life, after he's nearly been killed and just before he nearly gets killed again. And to think that this episode, as well as most of the show leading up to it, consists primarily of dialogues and monologues.

Monogatari rarely gets flashy, if it does it's for a climax of an arc where the aberrations reveal themselves, which really requires a lot of tension and excitement given their fantastical nature, however besides that, the show is pure talk. Initially off-putting, this kind of storytelling supports the two pillars on which the story is built: Character interactions and exploration of their psyche. Despite the constant array of words, almost nothing is thrown in your face; each trait is showcased through individual decisions and actions, only being revealed at the end, for those who couldn't catch onto their meaning. Araragi choosing to help people constantly showcases his empathy. Hanekawa hiding her true feelings is a sign of her shyness and modesty. Senjougahara's obnoxious behaviour is a part of her defence mechanism. Hachikuji telling everyone that she hates them provides a clue to her real intentions. There's just almost no dialogue in which character relationships don't progress or the viewer doesn't learn something about said characters. Bakemonogatari is very dense in that aspect. It can get confusing at some points because of it, but if you pay close attention, there's something that should help with catching onto the most important aspects: It's the directing.

Akiyuki Shinbou and his team utilized a few ways to both make the dialogue interesting visually and to emphasize the flow of a conversation. Undoubtedly their best idea was using silence when a discussion ends or stops to change to a different one, giving the viewer an easily noticeable sign of a change in topic or pace. This is often accompanied by an out of place shot, focusing on things like the outside of the place the scene is taking place in, an object inside the room, the characters eyes and so on. Due to the rather fast pace of the dialogue and the plot in general, those shots are a great way to give out fast bits of information, like the layout of a room or the current feelings of people included in the scene. Those types of shots are also often used for comedic effect, for example, during a conversation we switch between two perspectives of Araragi and Senjougahara talking, until at one point she casually throws a witty remark and as we cut back to Araragi, we can't see him, until the camera pans down and we see the defeated man lying on the floor. There's lots of stuff like that throughout the show, making it never feel like it's running out of steam. Lastly, the use of sound. The music isn't supposed to draw attention to itself, it serves as background for the characters as their tone of voice and their line delivery sets the tone and pace of a scene. For that reason most of the soundtrack is comprised of monotonous, steady sounds put on repeat, all of which are certainly pleasant to hear. Because the music isn't all that noticeable, the show uses sound in other ways: There are sudden burst or cut outs of sound accompanying the previously mentioned breaks in conversations. One of my personal favorite things is how the key lines are often highlighted by some sort of an effect mixed in with the characters voice, allowing for an easier watch for people paying attention.

Those examples are only a few of the ways Bakemonogatari makes itself interesting. I think this shows how much passion and creativity was put into this project, as well as how fun it was to make it. There are so many little touches and so many big ideas in the show, it truly feels like it aimed for something more, like it was meant to nudge its viewers with certain ideas, to give them a sort of a lesson, not just an experience that will fade as time goes on. I believe it succeeded in that. Despite me needing a re-watch to give it a proper chance, once I did I came to a realization that Bakemonogatari does go that extra step. It dares to state an opinion about the world as a whole, about human cruelty and the faults that reside within our society. By giving them a physical form, their consequences become more than just thoughts inside of the victim's head. Crab Gods that take away people's weight, invisible snakes that squeeze your body or cat aberrations that take over your body to release stress may not exist, but you know what does? Problems such as people hating their body after being raped, leading to medical issues like anorexia, bullying leading to the bullied kids scarring themselves, uncontrollable fits of rage as a result of pathology and other issues in life.
Bakemonogatari doesn't provide all the answers, it's only the first season of a long story. Slowly, episode after episode it analyses individual issues of each character, even adding some along the way, and eventually arrives at conclusions for each, giving off the author's overall look on the world, as cruel as it is. That's exactly why I believe watching Monogatari is worth it. You may not like it's style that I gushed about, you may not like the way the plot works, but if watched with enough attention it can really provide the viewer with something important, but finding that is something everyone has to do for themselves. After all, nobody can save you, you can only save yourself.